Nemesis
by Lady Kalinda
Summary: Sheppard and Koyla are stranded together in an underground cavern. Please R&R! Rating changed for good measure. (WIP)
1. Downed

Author: Lady Kalinda  
Rating: PG (May change)  
Genre: Drama, Action/adventure  
Summery: Sheppard wakes up in an underground cavern to find he is not alone…  
Spoilers: Underground, The Storm, The Eye, Brotherhood  
Timeline: Hmm, not sure, maybe sometime in season 2... I don't know really, just anytime…  
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters presented herein…. the nameless planet that this story mostly takes place on is kind of mine, though :-)  
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, this idea struck me while I was re-watching 'The Eye'. Please go easy on me; I hope I do the characters justice. And yes, I realize my title sucks… I'm really bad when it comes to thinking up titles. Also, I sort of tried to write this like an episode, so this chapter would be what you see before the intro, which is why it's so short.

Stargate Atlantis:  
**Nemesis**

Chapter 1: Downed

He woke with a start; his eyes adjusting to the dark; he could only remember the flash of bright light before the Jumper had crashed, if that's what had happened. It was all so unclear at the moment and night had either fallen or he was stuck somewhere very, very dark; the former was more obvious. The ship couldn't have crashed underground.

With a groan he rolled over, feeling his body was numb; it was cold, too cold in fact. He could feel his arms, but his legs were another story entirely. He closed his eyes for a moment and then re-opened them before looking around. The next thing he noticed, or rather felt, was the bump on his head; it ached somewhat, perhaps it was the reason he didn't wholly remember exactly what had happened. He was sure his memory would return in time.

He could see nothing around him, but he could hear things and the steady drip, drip, drip of water and how it echoed gave him a bunch that he was underground. There was also no night sky or no trees and that reinforced his hunch even more. He moved his hand about, trying to locate his P90 and with it his flashlight. But the weapon was gone.

That was when the rest struck him… or most of it anyway. He recalled a struggle aboard the Jumper, a man down… and then... a familiar face, one he did not expect to see again, at least not for a while.

As the memories continued to bounce back, he reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled out a flare. As he lit it, the area around him was illuminated by the soft, white glow and the air was filled with the grey smoke from the small object.

It was in fact a cavern, a very large one, so large that he could not see the ceiling, only a blotch of blackness. There also seemed to be no walls; well there probably were but he couldn't see them. Rocks and debris littered the ground, proving that perhaps this had once been some kind of base. Perhaps this planet, too, had fallen victim to the Wraith, it wouldn't have been a surprise.

Holding tightly to his source of light, he shifted himself up a little and, using his arms, moved so he was sitting against a large rock. That was when he noticed the blotch of red on his left leg; except that he felt nothing. He set the flare down and slowly examined the wound, moving the torn cloth aside. Dried blood had already begun to gather on his skin and the bleeding had stopped, though he didn't know how much it had bled before he'd awoken, he guessed it was quite a bit. From the length of the cut he could tell he was a knife wound, a slash, quite deep at that. He didn't even need to spend any time guessing who had given it to him.

He reached into his other pocket and pulled out the bandages, forcing his leg up so he could bound the wound, it was too bad he couldn't wash it, but he didn't have any of the right supplies for that.

When he had finished, he leaned back and closed his eyes again, taking in a long breath. Damn, it was cold! Perhaps it was only so cold because he was underground, he wish he knew if it was day or night on this planet; too bad he didn't even know which planet he was on. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to think of what he should do; from looking around, there appeared to be no way out, at least none he could see. Of course, there _had_ to be a way because he had gotten in here, he would just need to find it. Suddenly he looked up.

A sound. Small, yet getting closer; footsteps? Yes! Two heavy footsteps, perhaps the one moving was wearing boots. Maybe someone else who had come with him had survived; just maybe…

'Hello? _Hey!_ Over here!' he shouted hoarsely into the dark, making his throat hurt. He was thirsty, but such things didn't matter now. He opened his mouth to shout again, but before that a very familiar voice reached him.

'Major Sheppard,' it said, 'there's no need to shout. I remember where I left you.' And as the newcomer stepped into the light of his flare, John Sheppard's eyes widened. Before him, wearing very strange attire and holding his P90 and other items, was Acastus Koyla.

A/N: Mwaha! Please review me! Will try to write a chapter a day... or a week at the very least :)


	2. Of Boring Days

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews and feedback, I was quite surprised to receive that many in only a day.

Stargate Atlantis:  
**Nemesis**

Chapter 2  
Of Boring Days

_War and Peace_, such a long, long, heavy book… and here John was reading it. He hadn't gotten much farther then when Elizabeth had first made the observation about his reading the book. He sure hoped he'd finish it before they got home, if he even finished it at all.

Of course, today there wasn't much else for him to do; in fact he felt today was oddly quiet, like there should be something to do when there wasn't. He was also alone without his team; McKay had gone off to check on some newly discovered (and possibly Ancient) technology from Azora, a planet Sheppard and his team had visited a few days before when they'd made friends with the inhabitants, a very simple people.

Ford and Teyla had gone off to the mainland with Dr. Beckett to check up on the Athosians. In fact, thinking back on it now, John decided he probably should've gone with Ford and co as it certainly would've been more interesting then being in his quarters reading a very long and somewhat boring book. But it was too late now and, that aside, Beckett _did_ need to improve his piloting skills and the Jumper had been pretty full with all those supplies they were taking to the mainland.

So, here he was, alone in his quarters with his book. He sighed as he leaned back, setting the book in his lap and closing his eyes a moment. Yes, he was quite bored indeed.

'Major Sheppard to the control room!' The call over the Atlantis communication system brought John out of his bored thoughts and into action. Setting his book aside, he got up off the bed and walked, rather quickly, down to the nearest transporter and went straight to the control room.

As he entered, he saw Elizabeth Weir and Zelenka standing over a council with an open laptop upon it.

'Major!' Weir beckoned him over; he could tell something was up by the look in her eyes.

'What's goin' on?' he asked, coming up to the council.

'I thought you should see this,' Weir said, looking to Zelenka.

'A few moments ago, our gate was dialled from off world and received _this_ transmission,' the Czech scientist stated as he hit a button on his keyboard. Immediately a recording began to play.

'Greetings, Atlantians!' a young, male voice echoed with confidence. 'I am Nathan Goldos, where I am from is unimportant, but what I have to trade is. I have in my possession the _exact_ location of one of your power sources; I believe you call them ZPM's. From you I desire some of your Atlantian medicines and perhaps firearms with which to defend myself from the Wraith. I am transmitting the gate address of where we shall meet; you must bring one of your Atlantis ships, for the ZPM is located on a world without a Stargate. You must come within four hours of receiving this or the deal is off. I have many others who have offered to trade.' At that, the voice faded out and Zelenka held up a small piece of paper with a Gate address scrawled onto it. 'He sent this through the gate with his radio transmission.'

Sheppard took the paper and looked it over, finding nothing overly special about it. He pondered a moment, wondering at this very tempting yet mysterious offer.

'What are you thinking?' Weir asked, looking at him.

'I'm thinking it sounds a bit too good to be true,' the major answered softly, still contemplating. There were so many unanswered questions, especially how this person had gotten information about them.

'Isn't it worth looking into?' Zelenka put in. 'What if he's telling the truth? We could have another ZPM.'

'We could use that,' Elizabeth nodded, 'but we only have four hours and that's not enough time for Rodney to come back.' She looked at Sheppard for a moment. 'We have no way of knowing if it's true or not but Zelenka is right, it is worth checking out,' she added.

'Alright,' Sheppard said, 'I'll go and see what our mysterious friend has to offer.' He still had a gut feeling there was something wrong, but he knew Zelenka was right; they really needed those ZPMs and if there was even the slightest chance they could obtain one then it was worth trying.

'Assemble a team, be ready to go within the hour,' Weir said. Zelenka immediately stood up. 'I'll go,' he offered, being the expert scientist when Rodney wasn't around.

'No,' Sheppard said, 'I only want combat-trained personal this time. If it's safe then we'll let you know.' He wouldn't put anyone into a situation that might endanger them besides those who were trained for it. Zelenka sat back down, not bothering to argue any further.

The major turned on his heel and began to head off when Elizabeth followed him and stopped him as he was halfway to the door.

'John, don't get yourself into too much trouble,' she said, 'just be careful.'

Sheppard offered her a small smile and a nod before headed off.

For his team members, the major picked two men, Private Davey and Lieutenant Jones; two men who he remembered Colonel Sumner had liked. Jones was your average kid from a military family in Washington, while Davey had apparently ended up on the Atlantis mission by sheer chance. John was sure they were both good soldiers and, he hoped, he wouldn't have to find out how good or why Sumner had valued them so highly.

So within the hour they were ready to go and the Puddle Jumper slowly lowered itself down into the gate room to be enveloped by the awaiting wormhole. Well, Sheppard reflected as the ship and its passengers were taken into the gate, it wasn't such a boring day after all.


	3. The Mousetrap

A/N: Well, here's another one for you guys :) seems to be slow in accepting new chapters but I've been keeping with my promise and have written one a day so far. This one feels a little longer then the others but that could only be because it took me a bit longer to write it. Hope ya all enjoy this, though!

A/N 2: Okay, I've revised and fixed it up so it's better now )

Stargate Atlantis:  
**Nemesis**

Chapter 3  
The Mousetrap

Mister Norton Goldos looked like a pretty normal man to Sheppard, as normal as alien humans from other planets were, anyway. Norton's attire was quite like that of a typical man out of the Renaissance, he almost reminded John of a pirate, except he didn't have a cutlass. His face was that of a young man, not a single line or wrinkle was to be found there; his sandy blonde air dropped slightly into his dark green eyes. He was standing not far from the DHD, looking rather pleased when the Puddle Jumper emerged from the Stargate. He stood there waiting for his potential trading partners, if that's what he was waiting for, with his hands resting neatly in front.

'Well, sir, he looks pretty harmless,' Davey said, 'maybe he does have that ZPM.'

'Maybe,' Sheppard said, 'but I wouldn't count our chickens just yet.' At that, he brought the Jumper down for a smooth landing, feeling not even a bump as they touched down in the grass. He hit the button on the council and the back door opened as Norton made his way towards the ship.

The major and his two team-mates took up their weapons, stepped out of the Jumper and headed towards their mysterious new friend, if he could be called friend. John still had a rather bad feeling about this, in fact his hunch told him this was probably a bad idea.

'Hello!' Norton said as he ran towards them, waving his hand. 'I'm Norton, the one who sent the recording!' He seemed quite excited to finally meet them.

'I'm Major Sheppard, this is Private Davey, Lieutenant Jones,' John gestured to each of his team-mates in introduction. Norton seemed even more pleased now that he had learned their names.

'I'm so glad you decided to come! It's not just that I want something from you, but I'm pleased to give the location of this valuable item to those who have come to the City of the Ancestors; I am sure you are there with their blessing!' John eyed Norton for a moment, still not trusting him, despite how happy he was acting and how convincing he seemed.

'Yeah, about that…' Sheppard said, 'how exactly do you know so much about us?'

'Ah, I've got friends... in very high places,' Norton said, his tone relatively calmer. And then it came. It happened so fast.

Jones went first, taking a bullet straight to the head. He fell prone against the Jumper, blood seeping from his the hole in his head. Sheppard moved quickly, pulling his P90 up to his shoulder just as Norton stepped back, appearing to be quite shocked.

'What's going on?!' he asked, panicked. Sheppard ignored him for a moment, dropping to the ground with Davey, it was the least they could do; especially considering making a run for the Jumper would probably get them killed. Norton remained standing, though and Sheppard looked at him sharply.

'Get down!' he urged, still unsure if he could trust the other. Even if he could not, Norton had not killed one of his men. The major, however, immediately regretted his error as he heard Davey cry out sharply behind him.

Norton had shot his other man in the shoulder and now the supposed trader was holding a gun to him, a weapon Sheppard recognized; it looked exactly the same as the pistols used by the Genii. He hoped that didn't mean anything.

'Drop the gun, Major! You, too, Private!' Norton ordered, watching as the two of them let go of their weapons and Norton grabbed each of them, stuffing his pistol back in his pocket. Sheppard stood up, now at gun point; he felt a slight relief in that his knife hadn't been taken yet. He also doubted that they'd find it, considering its hiding place under his pant leg. He'd begun employing that tactic not long ago; it was something Teyla did.

'So, I take it you don't _really_ have a ZPM, do you, Norton?' Sheppard spoke out, not planning to submit.

'Of course he doesn't, Major Sheppard, but it was the perfect ploy to draw you here,' Sheppard stiffened a little as he heard the voice of another, a newcomer; a voice he recognized too well. The same voice that had told him Weir had died, tricked him into believing it. A voice whose owner he had pleaded with to spare her life over the sound of the waves rocking Atlantis when that awful storm had struck, bringing with it the cursed forces of the Genii.

'Koyla,' Sheppard practically the spat the name, absolutely certain of who the voice belonged to. And sadly, he was correct. Koyla stepped out of the nearby trees and came to stand beside Norton. He wore a long black coat and under it was also only black, attire that looked a bit more modern then that of the Genii. At his side the commander held a rifle and Sheppard immediately knew Koyla had killed Jones.

'I was hoping they'd send you; the tables have turned,' Koyla said, a little smile crossing his lips as he circled his prisoner. John resisted the urge to do anything, to attack Koyla for fear of what would happen to Davey. He'd already lost a man, he wouldn't lose another. So he just stood there, keeping his expression from giving anything away while his mind raced.

'For once…' Sheppard answered calmly, refusing to show fear in the face of his adversary. 'I'm sure it won't be long before they turn back in my favour.'

'I doubt that very much,' the other shot back, 'you're at a grave disadvantage. In fact, major, you should've killed me when you had the chance, it would've been smarter.'

'Don't worry,' Sheppard retorted, 'it's on my to-do list.'

'For someone in your position, you make bold threats,' Koyla said with a sneer. Sheppard shrugged.

'What do you want?' he demanded.

'It's very simple, major; I want your ship, this Atlantian space craft,' Koyla gestured to the Puddle Jumper, 'according to the lovely Dr. Weir, only certain people can operate Ancient technology and you're one of them.'

'Oh, well I'm sorry, Koyla, but you've got the wrong guy,' Sheppard lied, knowing it probably wouldn't get him anywhere, though it did buy him a little more time to figure a way out of this. He glanced at Davey, seeing the private remained quiet and looked very pained as the blood dripped from his shoulder wound.

'I hope you don't expect me to take that seriously,' the Genii commander sneered again. 'You flew one of these ships when you went with my people to the Wraith ship. And even if Weir was lying, you're still more valuable to me alive. And if you decide not to co-operate,' he glanced at the wounded private who stood beside John, 'then you'll lose another one of your men. I don't think you're willing to take that chance.'

Sheppard met Koyla's triumphant expression with a cold stare; his enemy was correct, he wouldn't endanger Davey's life anymore then he already had. So now he would need a plan, some way to get out of this mousetrap that Koyla had drawn him into.


	4. Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

A/N: Sorry this is late everyone! I didn't get a chance to completely finish it after I got home late last night. And right now it's also very late. It took my forever to get this all figured out; how this chapter would go, I mean. I'm sure there are a couple awful typos hidden in here somewhere, but since it's 3 am here and I have a class tomorrow morning, I will proof-read tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure this was posted! And, again, thanks for all the reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :D

A/N 2: Okay, all corrected and fixed :)

Stargate Atlantis:  
**Nemesis**

Chapter 4  
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

The clouds slowly parted as the Puddle Jumper zipped through the atmosphere of the planet, on a course for the moon above. Sheppard sat in the pilot's seat, wearily flying the ship at a slower speed then what it was really capable of. He would've already pulled some kind of sabotage, but Koyla was sitting in the other seat, his cold gaze watching Sheppard's every move. John knew if he tried anything he would be condemning Private Davey to death.

Koyla hadn't told the Major anything about why they were going to this moon but John had a few guesses of his own, the entire situation mostly gave Koyla away. The Genii commander had come without any other men besides Norton, indicating that he had probably lost some of his popularity at home and now he was obviously seeking to redeem himself. So what better way to do so then to bring back an Atlantian ship and one John Sheppard? Whatever was on the moon, however, was what Sheppard couldn't figure out.

All that aside, though, he needed a plan of action, something to stop Koyla from getting to that moon and obtaining whatever he was after. Sheppard knew he couldn't wait until they landed, it would probably be too late by then as he feared what would happen to Davey. And not only that but he knew if a chance came now it'd be better to take it then to wait; he may have won out against Koyla before but he knew never to underestimate his adversary and whatever he was capable of. He glanced back at the Private, seeing he was seated with Norton keeping an eye on him, his hands bound. Sheppard's gaze once again moved to his nemesis.

'You know, it's harder for me to drive with you staring at me like that,' John said with slight annoyance, his first attempt to make Koyla look away, even if only for a moment.

'I know this ship can go faster, Major Sheppard,' Koyla said, ignoring John's remark.

'Oh, you do? Sorry, Koyla, but this is as fast as it goes. You gotta learn to be patient,' Sheppard answered, looking straight ahead again. The moon was getting closer; its pale blue and green surface almost filled the whole window now. The moon looked almost like Earth except that John found something very unsettling about it.

'I don't think so. If you value the life of your friend, then you'll do as I ask,' Koyla still didn't remove his gaze from Sheppard.

'Don't listen to em', sir!' Davey cried. 'Just—' He didn't get to finish, however, as Norton struck him with the butt of his pistol. Koyla's eyes held a hint of question as he stared Sheppard down, as though within those dark eyes laid the very fate of Davey. Sheppard returned his adversary's gaze with a cold stare. And that was when the idea hit him as his gaze moved over the controls and he saw the wheel to adjust the inertial dampeners. He gave Koyla a nod and slowly brought his hand up to turn it.

'I don't get it, Koyla, what's on this moon that's so special?' Sheppard asked, creating distraction as he turned the inertial dampeners down completely. His plan was that when he sped the ship up it would jump to such a speed that the motion would take Koyla, Norton and possibly Private Davey by surprise. To Sheppard it would be just like flying a fighter plane.

'That's not your concern,' Koyla answered Sheppard's question without much thought. And then Sheppard increased the speed of the ship.

The Jumper bolted forward, forcing Sheppard and Koyla back into their seats; behind them Norton fell back, dropping the P90 he held and in an instant Davey was on him, kicking him and doing what little he could without his arms free. Koyla stood up, getting his footing as he drew his weapon.

Sheppard immediately turned the Jumper to a hard right and Koyla stumbled before John leaped into him, shoving him back into the wall; he grabbed Koyla's right hand and smashed it into the wall, causing the commander to drop his weapon before he smashed his fist into Sheppard's left cheek, knocking the major backwards.

As he fell, John made a grab for the fallen pistol just as Koyla did the same; Sheppard almost had his fingers around the handle when Koyla pushed him away and hit him again, reaching for the pistol. Sheppard quickly grabbed Koyla's wrist with one hand as he drew out his knife with the other hand. Koyla kneed him in the chest and grabbed him by the neck, shoving him backwards.

Sheppard leapt to his feet, moving towards the gun again just as Koyla pulled at his jacket from behind, wrapping his arm tightly around the Major's throat. Sheppard choked, moving one hand up to pull at the arm locked around his neck. He brought up and sank the blade into Koyla's arm, feeling the commander wince. Sheppard then elbowed him hard in the chest and as Koyla released him, the knife fell, clinging against the Jumper's floor.

Just then, the ship, without a pilot, lurched forward slightly, causing everyone to once again stumble. John was able to keep his feet the most, however. He made a final dive for the pistol as it slipped forward and under the cockpit controls. He whirled round just in time as Koyla came at him, holding his knife with his un-injured arm. Sheppard brought his hands up, grabbing Koyla's wrist to stop the knife. The two glared at each other as they both held their footing.

Sheppard was using all his strength to delay the blade that was getting ever closer to him; he knew Koyla probably wouldn't kill him but hurt him badly instead and John wasn't too pleased with either option.

Meanwhile, at the back of the ship, Norton had gotten to his feet and was punching and kicking Davey into submission, pushing the Private back until he was able to knock him unconscious with one of the heavier plastic boxes on the shelves. He then picked up the fallen P90 and held it tightly to his shoulder, watching Sheppard and Koyla, waiting for an opportunity to get a shot.

Koyla delivered a punch to Sheppard's chest with his free hand, knocking the Major back into one of the seats. As he fell, Sheppard felt a fire in his left leg, an awful pain. He clenched his teeth and looked down, seeing Koyla had stabbed him with his own knife. He winced harshly as the Genii commander withdrew the blade and punched him hard so he fell to the floor. Sheppard lay there face down and didn't move, his eyes half open. Koyla moved away from him and to Norton.

'Secure the ship, I think now we shall see if Weir was lying about this Ancient gene,' Koyla said, looking to Norton as the other lowered the P90. Norton gave a nod.

Out of the corner of his eye, John watched the two men at the back of the Jumper as he moved his hand slowly under the chair once Koyla turned to look down at the unconscious Davey. He gripped the pistol tightly, feeling it was ready to fire already.

He knew he would only have one chance and he waited until Norton began to pick up the fallen plastic box that he'd used to take out Private Davey. He lifted the pistol and quickly aimed it at Koyla.

What resulted was not what John had expected nor wanted; Norton caught his movement out of the corner of his eye at about the same time Koyla did. The young Genii soldier leapt in front of his commander and just as he was struck with three bullets straight to the chest, he mashed the P90 trigger, letting off bullets as he stumbled back, his finger still squeezing the trigger.

The instant that Sheppard saw him with the P90 he let go of the pistol and, using both his arms and his uninjured leg, he pushed himself off to one side of the cockpit to avoid the hail of bullets. The ship's controls, however, weren't so lucky.

A slew of white and yellow sparks flew from the console and within 10 seconds a small fire had started. The ship dropped sharply and very suddenly. Sheppard was on his feet soon after that; he ran to the white container and pulled it from the shelf, opening it. His mind was racing and, at that moment, he didn't care much about Koyla, only about the fire and the fact that he needed to save Davey.

From the white container he pulled a fire extinguisher; he stepped back, glancing at Koyla and seeing his enemy had lowered the limp body of Norton to the floor and taken the weapon from him.

Sheppard turned on the extinguisher and watched as the white, smoky substance filled the cockpit and the fire slowly disappeared to reveal a destroyed control panel, or what was left of it anyway. The piloting controls were gone as well. As he looked forward, he could feel the ship dropping, feel it coming in steeply. He knew they would crash. In fact, it was the last thing he would think before he felt the butt of a P90 strike him in the head. As the darkness took him, he saw the Jumper's window filled with the whiteness of clouds as the ship quickly zipped into the atmosphere on a crash course.


	5. Prisoner

A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this, but here it is :)

Stargate Atlantis:  
**Nemesis**

Chapter 5  
Prisoner

John looked up as Koyla set down a box of supplies, clearly something taken from the Jumper; which meant the ship had probably survived, not that it would fly without a lot of work. He also noticed that the Genii commander had bandaged the wound on his arm.

He blinked and reached a hand back to feel where he'd been struck by the gun; he remembered it all now. It came back like a flood rushing to his brain, how he'd fallen into the mousetrap, the fire aboard the Jumper, Davey's injury, how Jones had died; all of it.

He watched as Koyla sorted through the box of supplies he'd brought back with him. There was food, medical supplies, rope and some thermal blankets. John knew there were more supplies besides that on the Jumper.

Wincing slightly, he rubbed his cold hands together and stuffed them under his arms.

'What happened to Davey?' he asked, trying as best he could to hide the obvious pain he was in.

'He didn't survive,' Koyla said without looking up and also without much care.

'No thanks to you,' Sheppard muttered. He pulled his hands from under his arms, seeing as that wasn't helping to keep them warm. One of those thermal blankets would be nice.

'I saved _your_ life, Major,' Koyla's tone was a little less passive this time. Maybe he was hoping to gain some sort of respect… not that John would ever give him any, not after everything.

'Oh! Well then, in that case, all is forgiven!' Sheppard said sarcastically. Koyla shot him a glare, a slight irritation in his eyes.

'You _only_ saved me so you could bring me back to your boss,' Sheppard continued, 'I guess Cowen wasn't too happy when you came back from Atlantis with so little men and not much to show for all your effort.' Koyla stood, a pistol in his hand, as Sheppard continued his taunting. 'And _then_ you failed to steal the ZPM from us, which I'm sure didn't score you any points either. So—'

He was cut off as Koyla grabbed him firmly by the hair and pressed the pistol under his neck. Sheppard glared back at him defiantly.

'Understand this, Major Sheppard,' the Genii commander said coldly but softly, 'you are only alive because you have this supposed Ancient gene. The instant you are no longer of any use, I won't have any problems with killing you. Even news of your death would be enough to appease Chief Cowen. But maybe, just maybe, if I find something of greater use to me, then I'll let you go when this is all over. It's up to you whether to help me or not.' At that, he moved away and firmly backhanded Sheppard across the mouth before he turned his attention back to the supplies.

John brought a hand up to wipe the blood from his mouth as he watched Koyla wearily. He was awful certain that his adversary had no intention of releasing him no matter what happened.

He had run out of ideas, at least for the moment, and considering he couldn't walk, he had little chance of escaping. _You'd better come up with something soon_, he told himself or else he was a dead man. Which raised another question, why would Koyla need him for his Ancient gene if the Jumper was damaged? He knew he couldn't fix it, he was no Rodney McKay. Oh well, he was certain he'd find out soon enough.

The instant Koyla turned his back; Sheppard reached out and snatched one of the thermal blankets, as they were luckily the closest thing to him, and wrapped it around his legs, pulling them closer to his chest with his hands. The numbness was started to fade, as he winced at the wound on his left leg. That, at least, was a good sign.

Koyla turned a slight glare on his as he continued tucking the blanket in around his legs.

'What?' Sheppard asked with annoyance. 'I'm not any good to you if I freeze to death. And I'd like some water, too, if you don't mind.' His demand was rewarded as Koyla tossed him a water bottle and one of those power bars that McKay enjoyed.

'Thank you,' Sheppard said with some sarcasm and without the slightest hint of gratitude. He opened the bottle and downed quite a bit of the water, breathing a sigh as he closed his eyes and opened them again. He saw Koyla had begun to pace, walking back and forth near the supplies. From a hidden pocket under his coat the Genii commander pulled a brown piece of paper and trained a small flashlight on it as he studied it.

As Koyla paced, looking over the scrap, Sheppard tried to discern what it was. Each time he got a look at it, he saw that the paper had Ancient writings on it, or what he thought looked like Ancient writings. He thought he might ask Koyla what it was but then decided against it since the Genii commander probably wouldn't tell him anything anyway.

Setting the water bottle down, he unwrapped the power bar and looked around the cavern again. That was when he noticed something interesting on one of the chucks of rock nearby.

There were symbols, numbers in Ancient, letters, too, that he couldn't read, written along the rock. They looked very similar to the symbols written on Koyla's scrap of paper.

John took a bite out of his food and glanced back at Koyla and then at the slab of rock. He finally understood, or at least he thought he did. This place, this cavern, was the reason why Koyla had come to this planet and why he probably needed to keep Sheppard alive. There was Ancient technology here, technology that Koyla obviously intended to seize to help the Genii in the war against the Wraith. Technology that could probably be useful to Atlantis, perhaps even a ZPM.

* * *

Dr. Weir sighed as she looked down at the screen in front of her; she had just finished going over the mission report of Beta Team's excursion to M7G-677 to check on how the community of children was fairing and how their shield was doing.

Taking in a breath, she closed the laptop and looked at her watch. Two hours; that's how long it had been since John had left. And he hadn't checked in yet. The Puddle Jumper had also been unreachable. Worry was beginning to overcome her; perhaps the whole ZPM offer had been too good to be true, as John had said.

She stood up, turning to watch her fellow team members doing their work before she strode out of her office and across the bridge to where Zelenka was still busy on his laptop. Ford and Teyla were already on their way back to the city so they'd be on the team she would send to find out what happened to John, Davey and Jones. She dearly hoped that they were alright.


End file.
